Issue 40 Spring 2011
Highlights
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NOBIS
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ST ALBANS SCHOOL
Hockey Fantasia The School’s hockey players undertook their first major international tour in the October half term, taking on opposition in Singapore and Malaysia. The hot and sunny conditions in Singapore proved a challenge on the pitch, yet St Albans prevailed, with the 2nd XI routing two different opponents 8-0 and 6-0, and the 1st XI winning 3-2. In Malaysia, the squad played back-to-back matches against the same opposition at the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Stadium.This proved a very stern test for the 2nd XI, who acquitted themselves well in narrow defeats. The 1st XI played SM Sains Selangor, winning a competitive game 5-4 before beating SMK Kepong more convincingly 2-0. The players then continued to Ipoh, home of the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium, where a match against the 11-times national U18 champions SMK Anderson awaited. The 2nd XI match had to be abandoned during the second half after torrential rain rendered the pitch unplayable, but after a half hour break the rain had abated, allowing the 1st team to battle a very strong opposition containing 5 junior internationals. The rain returned and the pitch, covered in standing water, became virtually unplayable, but the match continued to its conclusion and the one and only defeat for the team on tour. The last matches were played at the USM Hockey Stadium against SMK Penang Free School, one of the top five hockey schools in the country. The 2nds came back to finish strongly with 2 goals in the last four minutes and conclude the tour with a 3-2 win. The first team played a thrilling end-to-end encounter.The final score of 3-3 was fitting, given the abundance of chances created by both teams.
The proud hockey tour crest; report left
Spleen Explained The complexities of Baudelaire’s poetry were illuminated by Richard Parish of St Catherine’s College, Oxford, in a talk to Sixth Form French students. His talk focused on the technical aspects of Baudelaire’s poem ‘Spleen’, notably how he captures a ‘snapshot of a mood.’ Parish used the technical aspects of the poem to explore this ‘snapshot’ in an enlightening way. The talk was followed by a reception in which students were able to discuss the poem, Oxford life and French with a renowned expert.
Team Work The entire Third form was put through its paces by the Coldstream Guards in the inaugural Team Building Day, an initiative intended to encourage the integration of new and current boys. The day consisted of two components: a cyber-bullying workshop followed by an afternoon session run by the Officers, Sergeants and Guardsmen from the Coldstream Guards, ably assisted by members of the School’s CCF 6th Formers. The boys were enthusiastic participants in all activities, which involved wall climbing and various command tasks, while actively benefiting from the opportunity to work and interact with their peers.
Justice Downunder of justice and humanity and whether these two concepts are mutually exclusive. Along the way there were some very enjoyable comic touches, in particular from Tom Ling, who took two parts in the production. There were fine performances from all the cast; particularly outstanding were Annabel Thompson as Dabby Bryant, Freddy Sawyer as the officer who inspired the play within a play’s production, and Will Jacobs as a brutal officer. Set, costumes, sound and lighting effects were excellent and the whole company deserve congratulations.
This year’s winter production of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good, directed by Miss Mary Bruton, was an excellent production of a challenging play, notable for a core of quite outstanding performances that
Chemistry Sixth form chemists enjoyed a fascinating day at UCL Institute of Education with entertaining and insightful talks on toxicology, renewable plastics and the healthgiving properties of brazil nuts, each from an expert in the field. Curry poisoning, starch as plastic and selenium deficiency were all carefully examined and explained. Finally, TV star Andrea Sella lectured on kinetics, finishing off with an exciting ‘chemonstration’ of Der bellender Hund (ie: a big tube of blue fire). In School, the Stephen Hawking Lecture Society has continued to attract high profile speakers to share their expertise. Dr
Dabby Bryant, Mary Brenhem and Lieutenant Clark – convicts and officer in the Australian penal colony
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lifted the whole cast. With the play set in an Australian penal colony, the audience was surrounded by both crew and convicts, with the latter’s quarters to the rear or to the side of the auditorium. Our Country’s Good explored the notions
During the term, the Drama Department’s Designers’ Evening collected together an interesting panel of four theatre production company professionals, and was notable for the fact that two of them were former pupils. It proved to be an informative and entertaining evening for Sixth Form Drama students.
3D
Appreciating drug interactions in 3D
Tony Wood, worldwide head of medicinal chemistry for pharmaceutical company Pfizer, explained how chemistry saves lives, looking for example at the drug ‘Maraviroc’, which combats the HIV virus.
properties, which he demonstrated with some pungent examples. The BLR was momentarily transformed into a 3D cinema as glasses were handed out, to show the potential drug interacting with white blood cells.
Dr Wood spoke of organic molecules which would prevent HIV, the problem being that there are more organic compounds than imaginable. He showed that slightly altering the chemistry of a compound can significantly change the
A productive Q&A session touched on a wide range of issues from patents, microbial resistance, drug development and epidemiology to the economics of pharmacy. The lecture also made the records, being the first one to be filmed by Dr Tanner. The students thoroughly appreciated Dr Wood’s thought provoking visit.
Rhythm
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The annual Scholars’ Concert took place once again with what is now the traditional aplomb and high levels of technical skill. This year the audience was treated to performances by a dozen talented young musicians. George Tasker started the evening with a fine rendition of Alla Caccia by Alan Abbott on the French Horn, followed by third-former Henry Jeffery playing Adagio and Allegro on the ’cello. Daniel Angel then sang Sebben Crudele, with a voice and maturity that impressed the whole audience. David McConnell’s performance of Prelude in C# minor by Rachmaninov was extremely impressive, all the more so considering that he was (unbeknown to the audience until the end) playing with a broken finger. Harry Sampson played Gershwin’s Summertime on the trumpet, capturing the relaxed jazziness of the piece. This was followed by Jonny Bennett on drums, accompanied by the versatile Peter Martin. Following on from this lively piece, Thomas Dilley played a melancholy Send in the Clowns on the French horn. The highlight of the night for many was the vocal performance of Eleanor Rosser-Smyth, who
Blues
sang The Singer, which was both perfectly pitched and powerful. The passionate piano playing of Max Houghton followed, with two pieces, before Nick Perry performed Divertimento in D on the trumpet, a technically excellent rendition of the piece. The penultimate performance of the night came from the impressive Christopher Springthorpe, who played Bach’s Allemande from Suite No. 2 on the ’cello. The final performance of the night was that of Peter Martin, who sang Bring Him Home by Schönburg, a fitting end to a superb night of music. This term also saw the return of The Gentlemen of St John’s, who are renowned for their close harmony singing. This year they were led and directed by Bradley Smith, OA and former Head of Choir. The first half of the concert focused on sacred music from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, beginning with Veni in hortem meum by Orlande de Lassus, delivered by the choir from behind the audience. The first half culminated with Franz Biebl’s Ave Maria. Returning after the interval, the audience was treated to the full versatility of the Gents, with energetic versions of several popular songs, including
A powerful and versatile singer performs in the Scholars’ Concert
Footy
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James Burton’s Ballalulow, The Beatles’ joyous Good Day Sunshine, George Gershwin’s Summertime, The Kinks’ Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon, Cole Porter’s Miss Otis Regrets and Neil Diamond’s I’m a Believer. The concert was closed by Rodgers and Hart’s Blue Moon. The evening was a joy for all and showcased the world class talent of the Gents.
Focus
First and Second formers were treated to a talk by Dan Freedman, who manages to combine his two passions of writing and football. He is a former football journalist and now the author of a popular series of football books.
Dan Freedman, former football journalist and author, who spoke to junior pupils last term
He showed the pupils his interviews with a number of famous English football players which he made for the FA on the occasion of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He followed this with a reading of a few pages of his book Kick Off, the first novel in his football series, before talking about his experiences as a football journalist. Dan then signed his four books for some lucky pupils, who had been inspired by his talk.
Sport:
Honours
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Home
Rugby: The 1st XV started the season at our own Saracens/ St Albans U18 pre-season Tournament, finishing 6th out of 8 in a highly competitive field. The 2nd XV also saw strong opposition, but were led to a heroic victory over Ravenswood Academy by a David Prince try. As the season warmed up, the 1st XV won convincingly over Haberdashers’ Aske’s 39 points to 13, whilst both the 2nd XV and 3rd XV also recorded strong victories. An impressive victory over Verulam School saw the 1st XV win 47-13, boosting confidence, whilst showing the depth of the squad with the 2nd XV winning 52–5. Victory was achieved at almost every level and age group against Berkhamsted School, whilst a block fixture against Merchant Taylors’ saw more victories than losses, with Cross teams recoding such convincing Country scorelines as 50–0, 48-0 and 51-17. runners The U16 Team toured Portugal, performed well in winning strongly against two teams, America as well but losing against the Portuguese as on home soil national champions. Ben Harrison was the best forward and Hugo Henson the best back. The freezing Bruising action weather curtailed numerous in the Saracens fixtures, but the final game of the Tournament
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Abroad
season saw no loss of form, with almost every team securing a strong victory. Cross Country: After the intensive pre-season training at Pen Arthur, the team headed to the RGS Guildford Senior Relay, with Vasudev Zaver finishing 1st, Wilkie Hollens 4th, Antonio Razzano 6th and Josh Hampton 7th, securing a solid victory. The Cross Country team toured Washington DC in their biannual tour, running in the prestigious Georgetown Invitational, with Victoria Walker finishing 3rd in the girls race and Mark Pearce winning the Junior Varsity Race. The high point of the season was the Intermediate team victory in both the preliminary round and regional round of the English Schools Cup, meaning they qualify for the National Final where they’ll face some of the strongest schools in the country. Robin O’Connor and Mark Pearce led the team home, finishing 3rd and 4th in the regional round. Football: The 1st XI and 2nd XI both won against Merchant Taylors’, whilst losing to the County U18 squad, although due to their efforts in the game, Richard d’Rosario, James Anthoney and Jack Wallace were invited to train with the County squad. Meanwhile, Joe Sharpe and Kayode Bola were selected for the County with Jake Sahota, Omeiza Haruna and George Davis all being selected for the District and Sam Alexander being signed to Watford Academy. Badminton: A fine season saw the U18s demolishing Hitchin 6-4 and
several occasions of close fought fights in plate finals. Mark Sadler was selected to join the I-excel scheme which provides support for young people who are competing in sport at a national level. Squash: The squash team destroyed both Haileybury and Berkhamsted, before entering a team into the County Championships that saw Matthew Inglis, Patrick Stewart and Joe Richards all gaining county rankings. Tim Richards took on the England number 19 player in the U15s, narrowly losing, but extremely impressive given he was playing up a year. Golf: In the first round of the Independent Schools’ Golf Association competition, our A team played St Columba’s, losing narrowly 1 game to 2. The annual Thompson Golf Trophy was won by Max Thomas. Basketball: The U15 team achieved great success, comfortably beating Roundwood Park School and Sir John Lawes School, with Luke Bevis top scoring. Tennis: The boys’ team of Gordon Tveito-Duncan, Phil Ruis, Joe Richards and Nick Pomfret all won against their Aylesbury Grammar School Counterparts. In a mixed doubles match, Gordon Tveito-Duncan and Helena Pomfret won comfortably, as did and Joe Richards and Rebecca Hannah, who will go on to play in the knockout stages. Swimming: Despite being weakened by injury and illness, the swimming team at Senior and Intermediate level sits 4th in the league, a highly respectable position given the strength of opposition in the local area, whilst the Junior team is 5th. Hockey: Eleven boys have been selected for the Hertfordshire Junior Hockey Academy to represent Hertfordshire at county level, a remarkable achievement that certainly bodes well for the hockey season.
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